Jeffrey Combs

Infobox actor
name = Jeffrey Combs

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imagesize =
caption = Combs (right) in 2007
birthdate = birth date and age|1954|9|9
birthplace = Oxnard, California, U.S.
birthname = Jeffrey Alan Combs
deathdate =
othername =

Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the "Star Trek" franchise.

Early life

Combs was born in Oxnard, California and raised in Lompoc, California. He attended Santa Maria's Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and later developed his acting talent in the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington.

After spending several years performing in playhouses all along the West Coast, Combs moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and landed his first role in the 1981 feature film, "Whose Life Is It Anyway?", playing an intern. His first horror film role came the next year in "Frightmare", which set the path for the much of his career in the genre.

Career

Combs' best known film role is Dr. Herbert West, a character in "Re-Animator" which he has reprised in the film's two sequels. He also portrayed the part of Re-Animator author H. P. Lovecraft in the film "". Other film credits include "FeardotCom" (2002), "House on Haunted Hill" (1999), and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998).

He first appeared on the science fiction series "The 4400" in August 2005, as Dr. Kevin Burkhoff in what by 2006 became a recurring role. He also starred as the telepath Harriman Gray, in "Eyes", a first season episode of "Babylon 5". In early 2007, he played Edgar Allan Poe in "The Black Cat", an episode of "Masters of Horror". [ [http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/mastersofhorror/combs.asp Jeffrey Combs, Star of "The Black Cat"] , UGO]

On television, Combs enjoyed critical and popular success playing alien characters on the various modern "Star Trek" incarnations, beginning in 1994 with ', in 2000 with ', and in 2001 with '. Even "Trek" fans unfamiliar with Combs' human face immediately recognized him due to his distinctive voice. Ironically, this distinctive voice Combs uses in all his screen roles is not his natural speaking voice but rather an affected one, as evidenced by interviews and commentaries on various DVDs of his film and television appearances. Combs originally auditioned for the role of Commander William Riker on ', but lost out to Jonathan Frakes, though producers kept him in mind for casting in the later series.

His largest role to date has been the multi-episode, multi-season Vorta clone Weyoun on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". On the same series, he had a recurring role as the Ferengi Brunt. During the DS9 episode "The Dogs of War", Combs made Trek history as the first guest actor to play two unrelated recurring roles in the same episode.

On "Star Trek: Enterprise" Combs had a very popular recurring role as Shran, an Andorian military officer. Shran represents a dramatic shift in character type for Combs, as his three previous Star Trek incarnations, Weyoun, Brunt and Penk, had all been somewhat passive officials, whereas Shran is a more heatedly aggressive leader. "Enterprise" producer Manny Coto once mentioned in an interview that he hoped to make Combs a regular on the show, had the series been renewed for a fifth season. Fact|date=March 2007 In addition Combs made some non-recurring appearances, including Officer Kevin Mulkahey [ [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/71932.html Startrek.com Deep Space Nine - Far Beyond the Stars] ] and Tiron on ', Penk on ', and the Ferengi Krem in "".

Combs has done extensive voice work; among others, Combs voiced The Scarecrow in the 1997 "revamp" of "". Combs continued his work in the DCAU several years later with a recurring role as The Question in "Justice League Unlimited". His version of the Question was well-regarded by both fans and the JLU writing staff and is credited for reviving interest in the character.

On September 11, 2001, a man named Jeffrey "Coombs" (note the extra 'o' in the last name) was aboard hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, which was later crashed into the World Trade Center. Having been confused with the passenger on the jet, Combs the actor was pronounced dead by news media outlets and had to announce publicly that he was still alive. [ [http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/VictimInfo.asp?ID=23 September 11, 2001 Victims] ]

Filmography

* "Honky Tonk Freeway" (1981) - Drive In Teller
* "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" (1981) - 1st year intern
* "Frightmare" (1983) - Stu
* "The Man with Two Brains" (1983) - Dr. Jones
* "Re-Animator" (1985) - Herbert West
* "From Beyond" (1986) - Crawford Tillinghast
* "Cyclone" (1987) - Rick Davenport
* "Bride of Re-Animator" (1989) - Dr. Herbert West
* "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1990) - Francisco
* "Doctor Mordrid" (1992) - Doctor Mordrid
* "Fortress" (1993) - D-Day
* "Necronomicon" (1993) - H.P. Lovecraft
* "Love and a .45" (1994) - Dinosaur Bob
* "The Lurking Fear" (1994) - Dr. Haggis
* "Castle Freak" (1995) - John Reilly
* "The Frighteners" (1996) - Special Agent Milton Dammers
* "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998) - Mr. Brooks
* "House on Haunted Hill" (1999) - Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt
* "Beyond Re-Animator" (2003) - Dr. Herbert West
* "" (2005) - Dr. Preston King
* "Justice League Unlimited" (2006) - voice of The Question.
* "Abominable" (2006) - Buddy, the Clerk
* "Return to House on Haunted Hill - (2007) - Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt
* "The Wizard of Gore" (2007) - The Geek

References

External links

*imdb name|0001062|Jeffrey Combs
*amg name|2:14373
*tv.com person|14531|Jeffrey Combs
* [http://www.jeffreycombs.com/ Official website]